In the Shadow of the Moon

Every once in a while a really great documentary comes along. In the Shadow of the Moon is one of them. This 2007 British film, which like most documentaries (unfortunately), had a very limited theater engagement, is now widely available for rental or purchase.

The historical importance of this documentary cannot be overstated. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, like hearing about the first (and still only) human missions to the Moon firsthand from the astronauts who journeyed there. And, sadly, these pioneering astronauts are not going to be with us much longer. Most have already left us. In the eleven years since this documentary was released, Edgar Mitchell, the last surviving member of the Apollo 14 crew, passed away in 2016, Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the Moon, passed away in 2017, John Young, the longest-serving astronaut in NASA history, and Alan Bean, the last surviving member of the Apollo 12 crew, left us in 2018. The six surviving Apollo astronauts who shared their stories with us in this film are all octogenarians and nonagenarians: Buzz Aldrin is 88, Michael Collins is 87, Jim Lovell is 90, David Scott is 85, Charles Duke is 82, and Harrison Schmitt is 82.